Coding 🔬

Official URL: https://bcgov.github.io/nr-pies/docs/spec/element/data/coding

JSON Schema URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bcgov/nr-pies/refs/heads/main/docs/spec/element/data/coding.schema.json

A Coding is a representation of a defined concept using a symbol from a defined Code System. It is, at minimum, a combination of a code, a code_set and a code_system. A coding may contain a code_display name.

The meaning of the Coding is defined by the code. The code_system provides the source of the definition of the code. The code_display is a human display for the text defined by the system; however it is not intended for computation.

Scope

This data type is intended to represent an atomic representation of a specific, discrete concept, element or idea from a registered code system.

Structure

• A Coding shall always contain a code, code_set and code_system attributes.
  • The code attribute is a Code string which represents the primary code value.
    • Should the code and code_set attributes conflict, the code attribute shall take precedence.
  • The code_set attribute is an array of Code which represents the code set value.
    • The code set is an ordered set of code symbols. The order of the code set is significant and shall be preserved.
    • The code set shall contain at least one code symbol, but may contain multiple code symbols.
    • The code set shall not contain duplicate code symbols.
    • The last element of the code set shall be the primary code symbol and must be equal to the code attribute.
    • For code systems with an embedded hierarchy, the code set shall contain the full path to resolve the code concept being shared.
  • The code_system attribute is an identifying string which represents the code system value.
• A Coding may contain a code_display attribute.
  • The code_display attribute is a string which represents the human readable display name of the code value.
    • It is designed for human readability and not for computational purposes.

Name	Cardinality	Type	Description & Constraints
code	1..1	Code	A code symbol representing the primary code value. It must match the last element of the code_set.
code_display	0..1	string	A human-readable display name for the code value, intended for readability and not computation.
code_set	1..*	string[]	An ordered set of code symbols, where the last element must match the code attribute. The set must contain at least one symbol, preserve order, and not include duplicates.
code_system	1..1	string	An identifying URI string representing the source code system for the code value.

Specification

Schema

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Source

{
  "$id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bcgov/nr-pies/refs/heads/main/docs/spec/element/data/coding.schema.json",
  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
  "title": "Coding",
  "description": "A representation of a defined concept using a symbol from a defined Code System.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "code": {
      "$ref": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bcgov/nr-pies/refs/heads/main/docs/spec/element/data/code.schema.json"
    },
    "code_display": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "A human-readable display name for the code value, intended for readability and not computation."
    },
    "code_set": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "An ordered set of code symbols, where the last element must match the code attribute. The set must contain at least one symbol, preserve order, and not include duplicates.",
      "items": {
        "$ref": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bcgov/nr-pies/refs/heads/main/docs/spec/element/data/code.schema.json"
      },
      "minItems": 1,
      "maxItems": 3,
      "uniqueItems": true
    },
    "code_system": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "An identifying URI string representing the source code system for the code value.",
      "format": "uri",
      "pattern": "^https://bcgov.github.io/nr-pies/docs/spec/code_system/.*$"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "code",
    "code_set",
    "code_system"
  ]
}

Example

{
  "code": "referral",
  "code_display": "Referral",
  "code_set": [
    "application",
    "tech_review_comment",
    "referral"
  ],
  "code_system": "https://bcgov.github.io/nr-pies/docs/spec/code_system/application_process"
}

Implementation Notes

This data structure is mainly meant to illustrate and restrict what is allowed to be encoded for an arbitrary code value. This is meant to only be used as a semantic reference point. This data structure is loosely inspired by the FHIR Code Type.

References

• FHIR Code Type